What children really need in the classroom post-COVID19

Yes, it happened. A worldwide pandemic forced a sudden change to the routine of South African Education. Educators suddenly had to become proficient in using technology in the classroom, creative when resources were not available and flexible in more ways than they ever expected coming into the profession. This has not been easy for many teachers, and an occupation already plagued by burn-out faced a few extra challenges.

Although educators are slowly recovering, everyone seems to be avoiding the topic when considering the impact on learners. I am not referring to the academic impact, as that is obvious and realistically will take about ten years to cycle out of the system. I am referring to the developmental challenge that we need to acknowledge.

Each phase of schooling offers a unique opportunity for learners to grow in social skills and mature within their peer group. Compare these events with the building of a house of cards. In the foundation phase learners gain the most of their social skills. They learn to play well with others, they adapt to the rigour required for school tasks and they adjust to the interaction they are expected to have with a variety of adults. Each schooling phase requires the development of unique skills, albeit the undeniable truth is that these decrease as learners approach Grade 12.

The National Library of Medicine published an article on detailing the findings of research done amongst children aged 9 to 10 in Spain[1]. This article highlights a significant decrease in the Emotional Intelligence of learners in the age group due to Covid restrictions. As educators know, children in this age group are actually remarkably resilient. This means that the impact on older children who were not only “deprived of the correct educational input into their emotional development, but also had the capacity to understand the full impact and devastation left by Covid on family units and the economy should be taken under serious consideration.

Sophie Penfold from the University of Chichester also completed exciting research titled “Has the COVID-19 Pandemic affected children’s emotional literacy and are we doing enough to support them?”[2]. She highlights that there are key developmental stages to learners being sufficiently emotionally literate and many of these stages were bypassed or rushed due the social challenges forced on young children by the regulations implemented during the pandemic.

The Covid pandemic has resulted in some learners missing out on these vital skills as online platforms are not made for social engagement and, if we are honest, most humans disengage when having to face the impersonal space of the online meeting. Learners are not all cut out for the online environment and many of them engage better when they are face to face with the educator. Some learners have felt the disconnect more than others and, in most cases, introverted children seemed to thrive better in the environment created by Covid restrictions, but this may only have been a temporary improvement as these same students have been deprived of the essential growth required even by introverted individuals to function in the world. In other cases, where social distancing meant several family members crowded into a single room living space, introverts regressed due to overstimulation.

So, what is it that learners really need in the classroom, from us as educators, to really bridge the true gaps post-Covid? They need us. Experience has shown that learners perform better when they can relate to the educator standing in front of them. This does not mean we are their friends or that we need to become too familiar, but rather that we engage with our students and bridge the gaps in the development of their EQ. Educators should be equipped to read the needs of their students and be proficient in understanding body language. We should be naturally intuitive to the emotional needs of our students.

Learners need to feel heard. They need us to understand that they are not as equipped as they should be because their “house of cards” is missing a layer of very important developmental skills. Learners need educators who have accepted that this profession is about really listening, connecting, educating, being “real” and in many cases we fulfil the role originally occupied by the parent in teaching discernment between fact and popular opinion. Learners are seeking a stable, welcoming environment in every classroom that encourages them to approach challenges without fear. As educators we need to meet the learners where they are on an emotional level. We must find the unique level of EQ that has developed in each learner due to the various levels of engagement that they received during the Covid period. We are then responsible for guiding a learner to catch up to the level of EQ that they will require to be functioning adults in the world.

Treverton has recognized this need for a relational approach to teaching and our smaller class sizes and a commitment to personal approaches used for individual students means that meaningful discussions can be had with students and parents regarding academic performance. A twice-a-week mentor session where learners interact with a selected staff mentor in groups determined by gender and grade allows learners a space to discuss real-world concerns and to be guided through these challenges by focusing on the Christian worldview instead of the secular and often confusing worldview. The full benefit of the mentor session will be discussed later in this article. These meaningful discussions help lay the foundation for relationships that spill over into the classroom and learners are definitely prepared to work diligently and to accept correction easily when there is trust. The teachers are excited to engage with individual learners outside of the classroom, fostering relationships that improve classroom interaction and willingness to learn. With a student body comprised of 65% boarding students it is much easier to find the time for meaningful relationships to develop next to the sports fields, on the dam, on various outdoor excursions and even just in passing on the corridors. Students and their parents become part of a family that will support them as they tackle their individual challenges.

The College focuses on ensuring that we are preparing our students for more than just the Final Independent Examinations Board examinations, as this could not possibly sum up the full extent of learning that has occurred over a full schooling career. Events such as “The Giant”, a 15-day excursion where Grade 10 students face various challenges while engaging meaningfully with peers and group leaders (Staff) have had an incredible impact on bridging the emotional development gaps that this Grade experiences. Learners in Grade 10 are faced with real challenges and have to show not only individual grit but must stand together to overcome daily difficulties. From planning how to use the food provided at a food drop to sharing the load of a tent or even carrying the bag of an ill or injured team member, these are all skills that develop a stronger sense of self and, even more importantly, a sense of belonging within a community.

During mentor sessions, all learners are provided opportunities to develop their absent social skills and emotional understanding. By interacting with others on non-academic topics such as the true effects of pornography, vaping or even the pitfalls of not making a stand on various teen-related topics, learners are now able to process the social and emotional skills that are not fully developed to help them understand the world they live in far better. This non-academic engagement with peers helps to bridge the gaps that developed when learners were not able to engage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learners can, under the guidance of staff, give their own opinions, listen to the views of others and even formulate solutions to the issues they face. These skills would have been naturally developed by play and interaction at various grade levels had they not been disrupted by the restrictions put in place during the pandemic. Learners are also able to process those “adult” decisions or scenarios that they were not emotionally ready to handle.

The true role is to assist learners to discern, another important factor in a higher EQ, between popular opinion and actual facts in every situation. These small group discussions that do not shy away from tough topics are exactly what students need to bridge and essentially overcome the gaps left by a disrupted developmental phase in their lives. Students will need to grapple with uncomfortable topics, deal with socially awkward moments and even look inward when faced with situations involving others.

If you look at the emotional development that occurs in the intermediate phase of Primary Education, it is easy to see that learners develop special social understandings with the introduction of subject specialists. They can no longer rely on the relationship with a single-class educator. Learners are empowered to resolve conflict as at this age they are still brave enough to stand for what they believe in without as much pressure from social media influence. Look carefully at the students that were encamped during lockdown and were not exposed to these learning opportunities and you will be able to identify why it is important to bridge these gaps to improve their learning in further grades.

The previous focus in education was providing 21st-century skills. Still, now we need to be focused on the development of EQ and ensuring that every learner can establish relationships with the people they will be connecting within the world. As specialists in Pedagogics, we are responsible for bridging the gaps in the developmental “house of cards” caused by the lack of age-appropriate contact, conflict, relationships and skills related to effective communication with people – who are not on the other side of a screen. The focus has to be on the development of relational education, where we move away from the old adage of “children should be seen and not heard” to one where every child in your class is seen and feels heard. We need to understand that the expected maturity of the Grade 8 students will not be what it was before, and in some cases, a sense of a false “maturity” may be present. Just because a child has dealt with tough situations does not mean that their development on an emotional level has been accelerated.

Learners do not need more lessons in mathematics or English; they need us to step up as their teachers and meet them where they are. They need us to help them “catch up” in the development of their EQ. The holistic development of every learner has its foundation in a solid understanding of the self before they can really understand any subject content. Learners really do not need master content specialists; they can find those on most devices. They need master teachers, called to the profession because we deeply understand the link between emotional well-being and the development of a learner and their ability to perform academically.

Written by Theresa Nel, Academic Head Treverton College 
Originally Published in ISASA’s Independent Education Summer 2024 Magazine: https://www.ieducation.co.za/summer-2024-edition/

[1] Article “Reduced Emotional Intelligence in Children Aged 9–10 caused by the COVID‐19 Pandemic Lockdown” written by: Faculty of Education, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

Katya Martín‐Requejo,

Corresponding author.

address correspondence to Katya Martín‐Requejo, Faculty of Education, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Avda. de la Paz, 137, 26006 Logroño,

[2] Sophie Penfold “Has the COVID-19 Pandemic affected children’s emotional literacy and are we doing enough to support them?” Available at https://www.ecsdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sophie-Penfold-University-of-Chichester.pdf